New Political party launched in South Africa

A new political party known as AGANG was launched in South Africa on Saturday to challenge the African National Congress in next year’s parliamentary elections. The leader of the party, Mamphela Ramphele, told reporters in Pretoria that AGANG’s aim objective is to build on the democratic foundations left by former President Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders and to fight corruption. She accused the African National Congress of failing to deliver and its leaders of giving priority to amassing wealth and power instead of tackling the country’s problems. Mrs. Ramphele is a former World Bank managing director and was a close friend of the anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko, who was killed by the apartheid regime in 1977. Although the African National Congress is still a powerful party in South Africa, its leaders have been accused of corruption, nepotism and of failing to deliver basic services such as housing, water and jobs.